On Borrowed Time
by BettyHT
Summary: Adam tries to stop a gunfight but fails and a young man dies. The dead man's brothers blame Adam and put a complex plan of revenge into action. Soon Adam is missing and his family is the only hope he has of being found and saved. SAS
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Despite a warning from Hoss, Adam got involved. He felt he couldn't let a young man like the youngest of the Long boys get shot down in the street without at least trying to prevent it. Johnny thought he was fast like some young men think they are fast because they can draw down on bottles on a fence rail and win every time. Facing a man who's going to be shooting at you is an entirely different atmosphere that unfortunately boys like Johnny didn't realize until they were in that situation. Trying to act like a tough man, Johnny had called out the card shark. Johnny said he cheated. The card shark said he didn't, and then Johnny had called him a cheat and a liar. He told him to meet him in the street outside or everyone would know he was a coward too. The card shark shrugged his shoulders and walked out into the street to wait for Johnny who then had the first dose of common sense but too late and he ignored it as well. Now he stood facing a man who had done this before, and Johnny would soon be cause for his mother to shed tears if he didn't back down. To his credit, the card shark gave him the opportunity to back down. He wouldn't. That's when Adam called out to him that he was a fool if he thought he could survive this and that he owed it to his parents to back down so they wouldn't have to bury their youngest son. For a brief moment, it looked like it was going to work. Johnny turned toward Adam who encouraged him to walk away from it. A few who had been drinking too much called out that Johnny was a coward though. The young man swung back and drew, but the card shark was too wily to have let down his guard. He drew and fired before Johnny cleared leather. Johnny fell into the street and his blood soaked into the dirt.

Before the gun smoke had fully cleared, Johnny's brothers were there. They asked what had happened and several said that Adam Cartwright had distracted Johnny allowing the card shark to shoot him down. Johnny's brothers Matt and Nate walked up to Adam to confront him about that.

Adam addressed them first. "I tried to get him to back down. He was going to do just that until his friends egged him on. I'm sorry he got shot. There was nothing more I could do."

Matt spoke for the brothers. "Those men over there say you got his attention, and that's why the card shark shot him down in the street."

"The card shark shot him down because Johnny drew on him first. He had no choice."

"So you're sticking up for that killer now too?"

"I'm stating the facts and nothing more."

Sheriff Roy Coffee arrived then. "What in tarnation happened here?" So Adam gave his story and Hoss corroborated it. Several others told the same tale. Some of Johnny's friends who had been drinking tried to get their version in too, but Roy knew what they were like especially when they were drinking. He told them he had all the evidence he needed. Matt and Nathan were incensed.

"What are we supposed to tell our Pa and our Ma? That Johnny got himself killed? No, we know who is to blame for this. That card shark and Adam Cartwright are to blame." Turning to look at Adam who waited with Hoss to see if he was needed any longer, Matt laid out their desire for revenge but couched it in terms that no one could take as evidence. "Adam Cartwright, you and that card shark are living on borrowed time."

"Adam did what he could to save your brother. Johnny done got himself into a mess and it got him killed. Weren't Adam's fault he drew on that card shark. Heck if he had any sense, he wouldn't a been playing cards at all considering how bad he was at it."

"You can keep your nasty opinions to yourself. Our beef is with your older brother. He got Johnny killed and he needs to pay for it."

As Hoss was getting ready to say more, Adam put his hand on his arm. "C'mon. Let's go home. We aren't going to settle anything here."

As Adam and Hoss rode home, they kept the pace up like they were in a hurry because Adam said he felt like he had a target on his back. Nothing happened. In fact, nothing happened at all for months and everyone relaxed about the situation except Adam. He remembered how long Matt had waited to take revenge on Hoss when they were just youngsters and Hoss had won a contest that Matt wanted to win. They had never been able to prove that it was Matt who had killed and dressed out Hoss' pet rabbit and left it hanging by its cage for the boy to find, but Adam had seen the look on Matt's face the next time he rode with Hoss and Joe to school. Matt had that self -satisfied smirk that he could do to perfection while the other students commiserated with the awful news Hoss delivered. Adam was sure Matt was cooking up some revenge plot against him this time and hoped that it did not ensnare his family.

At first it was only a prank. Adam was working in the southeast pasture after he saw that a part of the fence was damaged. It looked deliberate, but that still wouldn't stop some of the cattle from wandering away if it wasn't fixed. After about a half-hour of struggling to do temporary fence repairs without the proper tools, Adam saw two riders approaching the Ponderosa property line. One was bent over his horse and looked hurt. Adam recognized the Long brothers immediately and was suspicious. When they got closer though, he saw that Matt's left side was covered in blood, and Nathan called out for help. Adam walked to them.

"We was hunting and somebody took shots at us. Matt got hit. I need help. I can only ride real slow and I can't leave him. He's gonna bleed to death before I can get him to town."

"Here let me help you get him down. We'll see what we can do to stop the bleeding."

As Adam stepped to Matt's side to help ease him from the horse, he suddenly had a pistol aimed at his face.

"Just back up now and drop your gun. See, Nate, I told ya he'd want to help. Our Good Samaritan here always wants to help even when it gets somebody killed. Now Adam why don't ya take off your boots too while you're at it."

As Adam complied, Matt had Nathan take his boots and pistol and put them in his saddlebags. Then Nathan got his canteen. "Hand over your hat too. It's such a beautiful day, you wouldn't want to miss any of that sunshine now would you?" When Adam finished that, Matt ordered him to unsaddle Sport before telling Nathan to cut through the cinch. Nathan slapped Sport on the rump then causing him to run off a short distance. Matt fired a few shots into the dirt near the horse to make him take off running. "Now if you catch him, you aren't going to be able to ride him anyway. Have a nice walk home. See ya." Then the two brothers rode away leaving Adam to complete a long barefoot walk in the hot sun with no water.

It was nearly dark when Hoss found Adam walking. He had a sunburned face and his feet had a number of cuts and small abrasions from walking. Adam was very grateful when he saw Hoss and sank to the ground. Hoss jumped from his horse and wanted to know what happened, but Adam could only croak out that he needed water. Once his parched lips and throat were soothed, he could answer.

"The Long brothers decided I needed a long walk in the sun."

"Dadburnit, just when I was thinking they give up on that stupid talk about revenge, they go and do this. You don't suppose this is it, and they're done with ya?"

"No, I think it's probably step one of whatever plan the two of them have cooked up. Matt is going to do something. I wish I had some idea what it was."

Riding double, Hoss and Adam finally got home well after dark. Ben and others had already returned without finding him. Relieved that it was a practical joke and not something more serious, Ben said that Adam should not go anywhere alone until they were sure the Long brothers had given up on their plans for revenge. Adam agreed to reassure his father, but Hoss saw his look. Later as Adam reclined in his bed with his feet bandaged, Hoss stepped into his room.

"You think they're gonna do the same again, don't you? They'll wait so long until they pull their next stunt that nobody will be expecting it. We'll let our guard down, and they'll do something to ya?"

"It worked this time. I should never have walked right into it like that. I know better, but Matt is very good at planning. And you know I can't tell Roy about this. I'd look like a fool and a whiner. So they get away with it too. Only next time it's likely to be something worse. He's playing with me now setting me up for a bigger fall."

"What makes you so sure you know Matt that well? We haven't ever had much to do with them."

"Hoss, I know it probably still bothers you, but do you remember what happened to your pet rabbit when you were about ten years old?" The look on Hoss' face was the only answer Adam needed. "I think Matt did that."

"What, twenty some years later you think you figured that out?"

"No, I thought so at the time, but there was no evidence except the look on Matt's face when you were telling the other kids about what happened. He saw me watching him and smiled at me. I knew then but there wasn't anything I could do about it."

"Why did he do it?"

"Remember that contest where you had to throw balls through the hoop on Independence Day? You beat him at it. He wanted that win and the pocket knife prize that went to you instead. He got even."

Hoss sat quietly. "Adam, I'll watch your back as best I can, but you need to tell this to Pa and Joe too. They gotta know what kind of man we're dealing with."

"It won't matter. Hoss, sooner or later, we all relax when a threat isn't realized. That's when he'll strike."

"With the drive coming up, I'm real worried. How can we keep you safe there? There's always so much going on and people and cattle all over the place."

"Well there won't be any Long brothers along on the drive. I can't imagine that they would follow the drive to Nevada through the desert and then the mountains especially so soon after this prank."

And thinking like that was the second mistake Adam made that day. In town, Matt and Nathan were talking to two itinerant cowboys who had been hired for the roundup and cattle drive on the Ponderosa.

"Now just make sure he gets hurt and can't keep going with the drive. The closer you are to Ruby when that happens, the better. In fact, one of you could suggest Ruby as a place for him to catch a stage for home while his brothers finish the drive. That way they won't know and his pa won't know that he's missing for at least two or three weeks. We'll pay you in advance, but remember what happens to people who disappoint me."

"You aren't gonna kill him, are ya? Cause we don't want to be mixed up in no killing especially with those Cartwrights. They're the only ones who scare me almost as much as you do."

"Nah, we don't plan on him getting killed. Although with what we got planned for him, he might rather be dead. Now get going so nobody sees us together. You got your money, so just take care of business."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The drive went well and the fears that Hoss and Joe had that the Longs might try something to hurt Adam faded as they crossed the desert and then headed into the mountain valleys and neared the rich meadows with nice grass and plenty of water. The drive was going well. They had one last narrow rocky defile to get through and they would hit much nicer territory for moving cattle. Adam planned for them to halt for a few days and let the cattle recover from the hard part of the drive. From that point on the rest of the drive typically went very well.

On that last very early morning in the rocky terrain, Adam was scheduled to take the last of the nighthawk duties. He went to get his horse and found the men had already saddled one for him. The horse seemed a bit unruly, but he was not familiar with this one so he assumed it might take him a few minutes to settle the horse. Instead when he mounted up, the horse started bucking like a green broke horse in a breaking corral except there were no riders there to rescue him from the furiously bucking animal and no dirt to land in. When he lost his seat, he fell hitting his right hand and his head on a boulder. He had twisted and tried to avoid a direct collision between his head and the rock but was only partially successful. His right wrist was sprained badly and he had a large gash on the right side of his head. The men alerted Joe and Hoss who came running.

"Dadburnit, Adam, things were going so well. Why you hafta go and get hurt like that?"

Leaning against the boulder and cradling his right arm against his chest, Adam grimaced and didn't answer. He only said one thing. "Quiet." His head was pounding and he wasn't sure if the world had stopped spinning around as it had been when he first opened his eyes after the fall. He tried again but nothing stayed in one place. He was forced to lean to the side as he spewed out the coffee he had drunk just before walking out of camp to the remuda to get a horse. Hoss pressed a wad of cloth against the cut on his head causing him to groan.

"Sorry, I don't mean to hurt ya, but that cut needs a bandage. If you're lucky at all, we won't need to stitch it. Can you walk?"

A hoarse "Of course I can" was forced out through clenched teeth. Except when Adam tried to stand, he found he couldn't do it. Hoss stayed on his right side pressing the cloth against the wound while lifting him by his elbow. Joe helped by grabbing his left arm. Between the two of them, they got a staggering Adam back into the camp. Once Adam was resting against Hoss' saddle, Hoss turned around to ask what had happened. One of the men came up with a handful of jimson weed he had found where the horse was tied for the night.

"Now why didn't anyone see that yesterday? Everyone here knows to watch for patches of that stuff. It makes cattle and horses go loco."

"Guess somebody just made a mistake, Boss. Just your brother's bad luck to draw that horse this morning."

For a moment, Hoss was suspicious but decided that there wasn't any way that the Longs could have orchestrated that scenario. He thought they could not possibly have set up that horse to eat jimson weed and then buck Adam off into the rocks. As he wrapped a bandage around Adam's head, Joe was examining Adam's wrist.

"Adam, your wrist is bad. It doesn't look like anything is broken but it's swollen up pretty bad already. You won't be able to ride or shoot for weeks."

"Hey, Boss, there's a little town called Ruby not far from here. It's on the stage line to Reno. He could go to Ruby, and when he felt well enough, he could take the stage to Reno and then the spur line home."

"I'm not getting sent home. I can still work."

"Oh, yeah, brother, and just what dadblamed job are you going to be able to do? You got a head injury so you can't ride, and you can't use your right arm." Hoss didn't want to send Adam home, but he could see no other alternative. "We can get you to Ruby. You can rest there, and when you feel up to it, you can take the stage and then the train to Virginia City. Send a telegram before you leave, and Pa will be there to meet you and get you home. I don't see any other way to do this."

Closing his eyes and sighing deeply, Adam conceded the argument. He knew that there was something wrong with the plan, but thoughts were too jumbled for him to come up with a coherent objection. He didn't want to make trouble for Hoss, so he agreed. It would likely be difficult enough just getting him to Ruby, and he didn't want to make any more trouble for his brothers. "Sorry. I'll do it your way."

"I'm sorry, too, Adam, but it's the only way I see this turning out all right. You can rest up in Ruby until you feel well enough to take that stagecoach. We got enough money with us so we can give you plenty to get you home."

The herd was halted for a day and the chuck wagon was used to transport Adam to Ruby. Hoss and Joe went with him and got him settled in at the hotel. They paid for two days and left enough money for him to stay longer if needed. There was no doctor in the town, but there was a woman who took care of people who were hurt or sick. Once they were all introduced to Mamie Harkness, she looked Adam over and pronounced that he should be fit to travel in a few days, but that his wrist ought to be splinted.

"Why, ma'am, ifn it ain't broken?" Hoss had simply bandaged it to keep the swelling under control.

"Because a sprain like that is almost as bad as a break. With a splint on, he won't do any more damage to it."

"Well then, I guess you gotta splint it. You got something you can give him? He's hurting bad."

"Not with that head injury. I'll be as careful as I can be so as not to hurt him. Then you can take him over to the hotel so he can get some rest. I'll check on him tomorrow morning. Make sure he's got some water to drink. I doubt he'll want any food today anyway. I'll make sure he gets some breakfast."

"How much do we owe you, ma'am?"

"Two dollars ought to cover anything I got to do."

Hoss handed her five dollars. After she splinted Adam's wrist, Joe and Hoss helped him to the hotel and got him settled in a room. He quickly fell asleep, and his brothers headed back to the herd thinking that they had done all they had to do to ensure Adam's safety and comfort. He had enough money for more days at the hotel if needed as well as money for meals and a ticket for the stage. What they never saw were the two Long brothers watching the scene unfold from their seats by the window in the saloon.

Once Hoss and Joe were gone for about an hour and the sun began to dip below the mountaintop, they headed for the hotel and went up to their room. There weren't many guests so they quickly found Adam's room. Adam was drowsy but recognized the brothers but wasn't in any shape to resist them.

"Hey, now, Adam, old buddy. How about we go downstairs and have a little drink? No hard feelings now, right?"

Without giving Adam a chance to decline, they hustled him down the back stairs of the hotel and into the alley next to the saloon. Matt checked his pockets taking a pocket knife, watch, and all the cash he had. Matt took the opportunity to punch him several times in the stomach and then dealt a wicked uppercut to his chin that dropped him to the ground. Adam moaned and then retched up the water he had ingested only a short time before.

"Perfect. That ought to help our little story line play out real well. You got the bottle?" Nathan handed a small bottle of whisky to Matt who opened it and poured it all over Adam's shirt as well as a generous portion over his face and made sure some got in his mouth. With the rough treatment, Adam lost consciousness. Matt kicked him a few times in the legs. He reached down then and made a fist with Adam's left hand and pounded it into the dirt a few times to abrade the knuckles. By the time he was done, Adam looked like a drunk who had been in a brawl. Nathan switched boots with him so that his expensive boots would not cause any suspicion. Leaving Adam in the dirty alley, they went to the hotel and up to Adam's room. Once there, Nathan pulled the bloody bandage they had taken from Adam's head as well as the splint from his wrist. With those in place, Nathan dressed in Adam's black clothes and put on his jacket and gunbelt as well as his tan coat and his black hat.

"How do I look?"

"For people who don't know Cartwright, you'll do fine. Now remember, I'll meet you at the first way station with your horse so we'll ride cross country toward home. The only story anyone will be able to tell is that Adam Cartwright left town and then rode off with a man in the direction of Virginia City. He'll disappear for good."

"Matt, that's the part I don't quite understand. I know Ruby is tough on vagrants, drifters, and drunks. They jail them and then make em go work for somebody to pay off their fines, but the most anybody gets is six months. How is that gonna turn into forever, and what's gonna happen to us when he comes back?"

"Sooner or later, he's bound to say who he is. It might be a while until his head is clear enough for him to know what's going on though. By then, he'll be in the system, and when they realize who it is, they won't let him go. He would ruin the sweet little money maker this town has. He'll never get out of the system alive."

"So it's perfect. You get them to kill him for us, and we'll be back home and no one will be able to blame us for it."

"That's the plan, Nathan. That's the plan."

"But nobody is gonna know he's dead except us."

"Yeah, so we get all of them. Hoss is gonna be sick with worry when his brother is missing. Well, you know, I kinda like that too. I don't mind if old man Cartwright and his youngest brat suffer some too. I never could stand any of em. Now get some sleep in his room here. I'll wake you in the morning so you can head over to the stage line and get on that early stage. Don't eat any breakfast or do anything where you'll have to talk with anyone. When you're on the stage, moan a bit when the stage hits a bump in the road but keep it low key. Just a couple so they remember you done it is all ya need. Don't overdo it, or they'll stop the stage and try to help ya. Keep that hat down over your eyes as much as you can too. You got it?"

"I got it, Matt. I'll do everything just like you said."

The rest of the plan worked just as Matt intended. By noon of the next day, Matt and Nathan were on the way to Virginia City. In Ruby, a deputy had found a dirty drunk who appeared to have gotten the worst of a fight. There was no money or anything of value on him. They carried him to the jail. The judge showed up at eight to see if there was any business. He fined him for vagrancy, loitering, public drunkenness, and public brawling, sentenced him to six months at hard labor to pay his fines, and went on his way thinking he had done another good deed for the town. The mine would pay the town twenty dollars a month for the man's labor while they fed and housed him so the town cleared one hundred and twenty dollars with no costs involved. Adam never woke up for any of the proceedings. The deputy got the wagon hitched up, and with some help, he loaded Adam into the back and headed to the mine.

Mamie Harkness was very surprised at the hotel to find that Adam Cartwright had checked out and taken the stage, but the clerk described him just as she remembered him. Some men she decided were too damn stubborn for their own good. She guessed he would be sick from riding and that would set back his recovery. She was correct because by the time the deputy drove the wagon to the mine, Adam was dry retching in the wagon. He was disoriented, hurt, and dehydrated. The mine manager took one look at him and figured it might be up to a week before they got any decent work out of him. He directed the deputy to deposit him in one of the bunkhouses. No one checked on him again until it was time for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Where am I?" Adam had awakened to the sickening smells of food, unwashed bodies, and tobacco smoke. He took a moment to get his eyes to focus properly and then asked the nearest person the question he needed to ask.

"You're at the Ruby mine. Guess you were so drunk you don't remember getting hauled out here. Like as not you got the full sentence with the way you look. Went on a real bender, didn't ya?"

"My head hurts. I don't remember having a drink at all. I only remember going to bed, and then I woke up here."

"Not so surprising as I can still smell it on ya. Want something to drink?" When Adam nodded, the man handed him a cup of water. Adam tried to reach for it with his right hand and couldn't. He sucked in a breath as the pain from his wrist radiated up his arm, and then he reached for the water with his left hand. "I'll get ya a small bowl of the stew. They feed us all right here cause they want to get as much work out of us as they can. You may not want it now, but there won't be nothing else til breakfast. I'll get ya a hunk of bread too." Adam dipped the bread in the stew and was able to eat that.

As the other men retired to their bunks, he leaned back and tried to remember how he could have come to be here. There were a number of memories jumbled up in his mind and he needed some time to try to make sense of all of it. He had gotten a couple of head injuries before, and each time, it seemed to take him longer to make sense of everything around him. This time was especially disorienting. He remembered the cattle drive and suddenly remembered why his wrist hurt. Then he knew he was brought to town and put in a hotel room. There were memories that were flitting about with the Long brothers, pain, an alley, jail cell, and wagon ride. He didn't know which were real and which were dreams. In time, he would come to understand that they were all real and connected. Finally one of the men asked him his name.

"Adam, Adam Cartwright."

Silence greeted that pronouncement. Then there was laughter. "Hey fellas, we got ourselves a comedian. Says he's one of the Cartwrights. Yeah like they go on drunken benders and end up paying their fines with work. You're a funny man. We'll call you AC until you decide to tell us your real name."

"What's your name?"

"Buck. Got called that for so long I don't rightly remember what my given name is no more. I only got a few weeks left to finish paying my fine. Like as not, you'll be taking my spot in the mine. The work isn't that bad, but in this weather especially, it can get darn hot down there. Some of the shoring ain't the best. Some of the back caved into the stope yesterday, and we had dig all that rock outta there before we could get back to the vein."

"You have experience in mining then?"

"Oh, yeah, done it here and there for quite a while. Usually I get paid for my work, but not here. I'm looking forward to getting outta here and getting back to a real job. Besides the shoring ain't so good down there, and getting out alive is gonna feel real good. You know much about mining?"

"Quite a bit actually, but I have no intention of working here. This is all a huge mistake, and I plan to let them know to contact my family and get me out of here."

"So you gonna keep saying you're Adam Cartwright? I wouldn't do that ifn I was you. Ifn they think you really are, you're likely to end up at the bottom of an abandoned shaft. They don't want nobody ruining their little money maker here."

"Any one of you men could go to the authorities and tell them about this place."

"Oh, yeah, the law is real interested in what drifters, drunks, and no-accounts got to say. You really are a funny guy."

When the boss came in the next morning, he told Adam that his job was cleaning up the cabins and helping prepare meals until his wrist was better. That took a week. Then Adam was sent down into the mine with the others. By the end of the first night, his head hurt and his wrist ached. He was exhausted. He also had come to realize the level of corruption needed to let a system like this operate. Even though Buck didn't accept his claim to be Adam Cartwright, he agreed with Buck's conclusion that if they found out his identity, he would likely not live very much longer. He lay in his bunk with his threadbare blanket at night wondering how close his family was to finding him for they were his only true hope. What he didn't know was that they were not yet aware he was missing. By the time they found out, he was just another one of the bearded, unwashed miners who worked twelve hours a day and six on Sunday. Breakfast was at five, first shift was from six until twelve with lunch at twelve. Then from one to seven they worked the second shift, had dinner, and by eight, it was lights out.

The substrate was more stable in this mine than it was in Virginia City mines, but there were still cave-ins and occasional tunnel collapses. Although they were treated reasonably well, men died and were buried without markers in the open area just beyond the camp. There was no telling how many were buried out there for the windswept area removed any sign of a grave within weeks. Occasionally though as they dug one grave, they found bones from previous burials. It made no difference as they added the new casualty to the soil where the others were already interred. Adam did his best to get through each day without saying too much. It was the third week he was there that he made a mistake but one that had to be made.

"The shoring in the stope is going to collapse. The rock is bending around the timbers and within a day or less, it's all going to come crashing down."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know."

"You'd have to be a mining engineer to have any way to know that." And the boss remembered then that some of the workers joked about AC claiming to be Adam Cartwright. He decided to put it to the test. "So what should we do about it?" Adam proceeded to tell him how to shore up the back temporarily and then how to construct some square sets in that place for stability. It was all the man needed. The work was done, and it appeared nothing had changed except it had. The boss informed the owners about whom their latest worker might be. One of them had seen Adam a number of times. He came to the mine to observe, and what he saw chilled him. It was Adam Cartwright. If he got out of this mine, all of them could be facing not only financial ruin but jail or prison time as well. He went to the other owners who included the judge from Ruby. By that night, there were papers on AC that he had committed felonies and was to be locked away for life in Nevada State Prison. Adam had no idea any of this had transpired until the prison wagon was due in Ruby. He was hustled from the mine, shackled, and hauled off to Ruby where he was loaded onto the prison wagon. He had gone from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. And his family had just found out he was missing.

When Hoss and Joe rode into the yard of the Ponderosa, Ben strode out of the house to greet them. After a hearty hello and smiles, he looked behind them. "Where's Adam?"

"Ain't he home?" Hoss was surprised.

"Why would he be home? Did he ride ahead of you?"

"Pa, Adam got hurt over three weeks ago. We took him into Ruby so he could catch a stage home. He was supposed to send a telegram when he was on his way."

"There was no telegram and there's no Adam."

Suddenly very worried, Hoss and Joe mounted up again. "Where are you going?"

"Ruby, of course. Me and Joe gotta find out what happened. We never stopped in there on the way here cause we thought Adam woulda been long gone."

"I'm going with you. Hoss, go get some provisions from Hop Sing. Joe, write a message to Roy letting him know what we're doing and send one of the hands to deliver it. I'm going to pack up a few things and saddle up Buck. We're going to go find my son."

The three men traveled as fast as they could. When they got to town, Hoss suggested that Mamie Harkness would be the first person with whom they should speak. They found her at home.

"I never seen him after that first time. I went to the hotel the next morning, and they said he had checked out. Surprised me cause with the shape he was in, I never thought he would be out of that bed so fast. I reckon he paid for that decision while he was riding on the stage. I suppose you want some of your money back now?"

"No, Mamie, not at all. I remember all you did for my brother so you keep the money I gave you."

They headed to the hotel next, and the clerk verified that Adam had checked out. He described him exactly but said things that surprised them. "You could see the pain in them blue eyes. I told him it wasn't a problem if he wanted to stay longer, but he said he said he wanted to get home to his daddy."

"So, this man had a bloody bandage on his head and a splint on his right wrist?" The clerk nodded at Hoss' question. But he had blue eyes and he said 'daddy' when he talked to you?" The clerk nodded again, but added more.

"I could be wrong about those things, but that's how I remember it."

Thanking the clerk as they had thanked Mamie, the three headed to the stage depot where it was confirmed that someone meeting Adam's description had boarded a stage for Reno. From across the street, the judge watched with his nerves in a jangle. When the three mounted up and rode out, he visibly relaxed and went to tell the other owners that Ben Cartwright and his other sons had left town. They were headed to Reno to talk with two passengers who had been on that stage. It took a number of days to make that trip as their mounts were tiring. Finally they located the couple who had been on that stage and asked about the man in black with the tan jacket.

Mrs. Daul was more than happy to answer their questions. "Oh, yes, I remember him well. He seemed to be in pain and moaned a few times when the stage hit a particularly big bump. He kept his hat pulled down over his face, but you could tell he was hurting."

"Do you know where he went when he got to Reno?"

"Oh, he never got to Reno. He left at the first way station stop. There was a friend waiting there with a horse, and he said it would be more comfortable to go home to his daddy that way rather than on that stage."

The jarring use of 'daddy' again set them all on edge, but Ben outwardly remained calm. When he asked if they could describe that other rider or the horses, Mr. Daul was able to do both. They knew then that the Longs had to be at the bottom of this mystery. They thanked the Dauls and headed to a hotel.

"Pa, Adam wasn't on that stage. Them Longs set that all up. So where do you think he is?"

"Hoss, the answer has to be in Ruby. He didn't leave on the stage so he's got to be there somewhere." Ben did not voice his fear that the Long brothers had killed him.

"Hoss, how do we know it was the Longs?"

"Joe, Matt Long especially always says things about his 'daddy' and you know how Nathan does whatever Matt does. Nathan Long has blue eyes too even with that dark hair. He's about Adam's size too. The horses they described fit the horses that Matt and Nathan ride. It was them all right. Ifn we don't find Adam in Ruby, I got some questions I want to ask those two, and they better answer em."

They got no more information in Ruby the second time they were there. The sheriff said he had never seen anyone fitting that description. He asked his deputies, and they claimed the same. Ben and his younger sons rode to Virginia City and laid out their suspicions to Roy. He went to question the Long brothers but got no information. When he reported to Ben, he agreed the Longs had done something.

"That Matt had that smirk he always has when he's been up to something, and that Nathan liked to wet himself, he was so nervous. They tried not to react to my questions when you know darn well they shoulda been happier than a pig after a rain knowing Adam is likely in trouble. They done something. I wish I had some idea what it was. I'll keep a deputy watching em. It's about all I kin do right now."

"Well, you let me ask em a few questions, and I'll get some answers from em."

"Hoss, now you stay away from em. It ain't gonna do your brother Adam no good for you to end up in jail. Now we gotta get more information. I think I'll send Clem to Ruby and see what he can come up with. You three go home until we get something else to go on. Ben ain't you got that visit to the state prison coming up?"

"Yes, but I'm really not in a mood to do it right now."

"Well, I think you oughta, and then ask them other commission folks what they might know about Ruby, and if any other men are missing from that area."

"You have an idea, Roy?"

"Just the hint of one. Every now and then I get a drunk or a drifter in here who asks me if they treat men the same here as in Ruby. I always just tell em they'll pay the fine or do the jail time. They look relieved at that, and now I'm real curious as to why. Something might be going on up there in Ruby, and Adam may have got himself into the middle of it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Damn, Ben Cartwright is coming here with the prison commission. We gotta do something about that son of his." The warden had a share in the Ruby mine too, and his career, reputation, wealth, and freedom were all at risk if Adam Cartwright was able to tell what he knew. He couldn't sanction an outright murder though. He had never gone that far, and wasn't sure he could.

"Warden, maybe if we just let him in the general population, they'll take care of him for us. That Enders bunch gave him a good pounding just after he got here." The assistant warden was the brother of the judge who sent Adam into the prison. He stood to lose as much as the others.

"Tom, where is he now?"

"He's in the infirmary yet. He was senseless for a day or so. Looked like he had a head injury not that long ago."

"Release him into the population. Tomorrow morning, find something to charge against him and put him in the hole. No one's gonna look in there, and even if they do, a dirty bearded man sweating in the hot sun won't be recognized by his own mother."

"Warden, I'll take care of it. We got all the other things set up for an inspection. Got a few of the loud mouths in solitary. The inspection should go just fine."

"Just see that it does. Everything depends on that working out."

On the Ponderosa, that night, there was a knock on the door that brought a reaction from the Cartwrights. Each grabbed a firearm before Ben cautiously opened the door. The man at the door was a stranger.

"Are you Ben Cartwright?"

"I am. And may I ask who you are especially as you arrived long after the usual time for calling on someone?"

"Sorry about that. I got directions but I got turned around a few times until I saw the lights here and figured it had to be the place. My name is Buck Tyler. I think I might have some information for you about your son Adam."

Although Ben was still on alert for some trick or or foul play the man might be planning, he invited Buck into the house. "Now what do you know about Adam?"

"Well, you see, I'm not so sure I know anything, but I heard in town that he was missing. Well, I come here looking for work in the mines, and people said they weren't hiring except they said the Ponderosa is usually hiring at this time of year except with Adam missing, everything is different."

"Yes, but could you get to the point of this visit? It's late."

"I just got out of serving a six month sentence in Ruby. I got drunk and disorderly there and had to pay a fine except I didn't have no money so they sentenced me to hard labor for six months."

Hoss couldn't believe that. "Six months hard labor for being drunk? That don't seem right."

"Well it's how they do things there. Anyway, a man was brought into the mining camp to work just a short time before I got released. He told me his name was Adam Cartwright. Well I didn't believe him, but I told him to keep it to himself cause ifn he told them bosses at the camp, well, they as likely as anything woulda probably wanted to get rid of him before he told anyone what they was doing there."

"Mr. Tyler, can you describe this man who called himself Adam Cartwright?"

"You can just call me Buck. Well he was tall, at least three or four inches taller than me. He had on a black shirt and black pants. His hair is black and kinda curly especially the longer it got. He grew more beard in the weeks I knew him than most of us could grow in a few months. He walked real smooth like he was the boss of everything, and he didn't back down from nobody. His eyes was kinda funny cause they looked kinda brown sometimes and kinda green other times. His voice was deep and he could sing real nice like. Led us in singing on Sunday afternoon which was the only down time we ever had. He had a bum wrist when he got there, a bunch of bruises, and a bump on the head. Don't know what happened to him, and he didn't rightly know either for sure I guess. He didn't talk much about himself. Kinda kept things to himself and seemed to ponder on them some."

Ben's hopes had been rising as Buck talked. "Buck, you have just described my son. Where is this camp in Ruby?" Hoss and Joe stood as if they could ride there that night.

"Well, it's not too far from town so it would be easy to find. But Mr. Cartwright, he ain't there no more. The day before I got released, they chained him up and took him away. Some said they heard somebody say they was taking him into town for the prison wagon."

"Prison? Why would they be taking him to prison?"

"Well, you see that did make me wonder too, and today when I heard Adam was missing, well it got me to wondering if that was him, and they meant to shut him up by locking him away for good."

When it turned out that Buck didn't know any more, Ben had him take a bunk in the bunkhouse. He said he would pay him a wage just to stay there for the time being until they could get to the bottom of what had happened. Then Ben sat up with his younger sons for almost two hours as they planned what they would do. In the morning as soon as it was light, Hoss rode to town with Buck to talk with Roy. With Buck's information, Roy might be able to do something to get an investigation going about the Ruby camp, and if he could go there with Hoss, they might be able to question people and get some information. Ben planned to go on the prison inspection. In fact, he was now anxious to go, but Joe was coming with him. They hoped to add a few more people once Roy contacted the authorities in Carson City to let them know that something suspicious was going on with the state prison. Ben prayed silently as often as he could that Adam had survived and would continue to survive until they could find him and bring him home.

In the prison, Adam was having trouble sleeping. He had a gut feeling that he was in a lot more danger than anyone seemed to think. Still hurting from the beating he had received, he suspected that he had been assured that he would be safe in the population in order to set him up for something. Unfortunately, he wasn't at all sure what he faced. He fell asleep a few times and then jerked awake with the feeling that someone was close by who meant him harm. All he heard he time he awakened though were the snores and heavy breathing of those near him. No one was moving at all for as quiet as it was he was sure he could detect that.

There actually were a couple of men in the prison who had helped him. They told him that they had worked drives for the Ponderosa and had been treated fairly. Adam told them if he ever got out of prison, they could come to the Ponderosa when they were released, and he would hire them to work. The two cowboys had gotten into a shoot-out in a saloon and ended up doing prison time because a bystander had been killed by a stray bullet. They were decent men who had made a big mistake, and they were the two who had saved Adam from being beaten to death by Bill Enders and his friends. They slept in the same corner where Adam now reclined. There was talk of a prison inspection the next day. Adam knew his father was on that commission. He hoped that there would be some way for him to get to his father, but wondered if the warden and guards knew who he was and would prevent that. He was on the prison rolls as Aaron Cavil, the name of a student with whom Adam attended college and the only one he could come up with in a hurry that matched the AC that he was called. They never questioned the name or anything else about him so he suspected they already knew he was Adam Cartwright.

In the morning, the food ration was delivered and it was only about half of what was needed. A fight broke out as inmates fought over the food. Guards rushed in and beat back the inmates until all were standing against the wall. Adam had stayed out of the melee as he was in no condition to fight any one in any way. As the warden arrived, the guards told the inmates to face the wall.

"Who started this mess?"

"Warden, our best information is that AC did it."

Almost pulling away from the wall to deny that he had done anything, his two friends shushed him in order to save him from a worse punishment for they knew he was in for some disciplinary action.

"Put him in the hole. Oh, and ten lashes before he goes down there to give him a reminder during his time in the hole that he needs to follow the rules around here."

Two guards approached Adam and grabbed his arms as the others held firearms on the inmates. Once Adam was taken from the cell, more food was delivered and the door was locked but not before the assistant warden warned them that they had seen nothing. The men nodded or stared at the floor. They had seen other men get that kind of treatment. They usually did not have long to live. Outside, Adam was stripped down and secured to a wagon wheel. He knew what was coming but the first last still caused him to yell. After that, he kept control and was silent. Each lash sent fire along his back. By the tenth lash, he didn't want to move because even the slightest movement pulled against the lacerations and sent waves of pain radiating out across his body. The ties were loosened and he was forced to stagger to the hole that was a four by eight by ten foot deep excavation in the middle of the yard. The grate was pulled open and a ladder was set in place for him to climb down. He tried but slipped and fell down most of the ten feet. He hardly even felt the damage from the hard fall with the pain in his back. He lay on the dirt floor of the hole and tried not to move. He tried to breathe as shallowly as possible as the pain was intense. He heard them talking above him wondering if he was still alive. He heard the warden's voice.

"It doesn't matter. Now or later, he's a dead man, and we did it all legal like too. Now follow the rest of your instructions."

The grate was lowered and locked. Then Adam was plunged into darkness as a canvas tarp was laid over the grate. Next he heard dirt landing on the tarp, and then he knew the plan. They would keep him in the hole and even the hole's existence would be concealed. If his father or anyone else searched for him, they would never find him. He nearly cried when he realized he would die in this hole, alone, injured, and in the dark. He did not have any food or water and had not had any of either since the night before. He probably had perhaps a day left in this world when the sun heated this makeshift tomb to unbearable temperatures as well. He felt like a leaf blowing about in the wind. He was so used to being in charge and controlling his destiny that he felt the lack of control and the helplessness even more as they were so foreign to his previous existence. After a time, the sounds from above dimmed and then there was silence. He was in a silent, dark, hot cell from which he could not escape. His father always had told him that where there was life, there was hope. He tried to hang onto that and said a few prayers and asked for absolution for his sins. Then he closed his eyes and gave in to the exhaustion.

About that time, Ben and Joe and the other members of the prison commission were being escorted to the warden's office by the assistant warden. Tom could tell that this group was going to be a lot more difficult than the previous commission. They were already looking around with critical eyes and not liking what they saw. Undoubtedly there would be changes forced upon them by this new group. He hoped they wouldn't be too difficult and expensive to implement for it could significantly lower their profits from this enterprise if there were too many reforms required. He gave no thought to Adam Cartwright in the hole because he was sure they had taken care of that problem permanently.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As Ben sat with the warden, he had the distinct impression that the man was very nervous. He would not meet Ben's gaze, and frequently stumbled over words in his answers to some of their questions. Finally Ben thought to see just how nervous he could make him.

"We haven't introduced everyone yet. Warden, this is my son Joseph. He is a temporary member of the commission. My son Eric will be here later with Sheriff Roy Coffee and a few others who will assist us in our investigation. I have a third son, Adam, but he's missing at the moment. He was in Ruby and then we heard he was put on a prison wagon. Why was he brought here and when did he arrive?"

"Mr. Cartwright, we have no one here by that name. You sound very accusing in your questions, and I resent the implication that we have done something wrong here. I will be expecting an apology at the end of your visit." The warden was a bit belligerent but still didn't meet Ben's eyes and his eyes did flick toward the assistant warden several times as if asking for help. Soon the assistant warden addressed the warden to extricate him from the conversation before he could say anything incriminating.

"Warden, I'll get these men started on their tours so you can get back to all the work that you have to finish today."

"Yes, Tom, thank you. That would be very good."

That action let Ben and Joe know that the assistant warden was in on whatever was happening in this prison. They dutifully followed along on the tour opening doors and cabinets along the way and requiring all locked rooms, cabinets, and closets to be opened and inspected. They found nothing out of the ordinary, and worst of all, they found no sign of Adam. They ate lunch getting the same rations the men got that day. They knew that the food was probably better than anything the men ate regularly, but they saw no one who looked malnourished. In the afternoon they did an inspection of everything outside. Again there was no sign of Adam but Joe noticed brown stains on a large wagon wheel and asked what it was.

"Ah, that's where we secure men who are punished with lashes. You must know that some men only respond to such physical punishment. We have to keep the other inmates safe from brutes like that."

"There's fresh blood on here. Who was whipped? I don't remember seeing any man with lashes including the men in solitary."

"Ah, I'm sure he's in the prison hospital. We would not be so brutal as to put a man with such wounds into solitary. Anyone who is sick, injured, or wounded is put in the prison hospital until they are healthy enough to be returned to the general population. These men would take advantage of anyone who was weak like that so they have to be cared for until they can take care of themselves."

Ben had an answer to that. "Now you gave a pretty little speech there, but we saw no one in the prison hospital with injuries to his back. In fact, there were obvious injuries to the men who are being held in solitary, and they are not in the hospital either. I want to know where the man took these lashes is."

There suddenly was a disturbance at the gate that drew everyone's attention. I detachment of Nevada militia entered the prison grounds with Hoss and Roy as well the state attorney general who was there as a representative of the governor's office. Riding in behind them was Dr. Paul Martin in his carriage. Tom visibly paled. Hoss and Roy rode up to Ben, Joe, and the other commission members.

"Pa, the governor thinks there's enough evidence of mal something that he wants a more drastic approach."

"Malfeasance?"

"Yeah, that was it. He's sending some others up to Ruby to see what's going on there too. The militia is here to take over temporary guard duty. Everyone who works here is on suspension with pay as of now and until the investigation is over."

"Hoss, we didn't find him. We found nothing to show that Adam was ever here."

"Dadburnit. Well is there any place you didn't look?"

The men were standing near a work detail who were sweeping up debris in the yard. One of the men yelled out "Look in the Hole!" and was pushed to the ground by the guard who was with him. Roy and Ben intervened.

"Hold it. We want to hear what that man has to say." As Ben and Roy got closer, Ben recognized the man. "Jeremy, is that you?" Getting a nod from the man, Ben continued. "I think I remember you worked for us on several drives. Have you seen Adam?"

"Yessir, Mr. Cartwright. They put him in the Hole this morning."

"Where's the Hole? We haven't seen anything like that."

Pointing to the center of the yard, Jeremy had Ben's full attention, but Ben still could see nothing. "They covered it up this morning after they put him down there."

"Show me, please, Jeremy, show me."

Rushing then, Jeremy almost ran to the camouflaged Hole location. He found the edge of the tarp and pulled it away letting dirt drop through the grate and dust ballooned up. Seeing the lock, Ben demanded that it be opened. When it was and the grate was opened, Ben knelt at the edge and leaned down to look. He could barely see inside and the stench was terrible. He could see what looked to be a man on the floor who was not moving.

"How do they get down there?"

Jeremy asked for help to get the ladder that was used. It was carefully placed almost vertically into the Hole so as not to hurt the man below. Ben was going to climb down when Paul placed a hand on his arm. "Ben, let me go first. He may need my care." Ben acknowledged that was true but asked Paul to hurry. Once Paul reached Adam, he did a quick examination as the men up above held their breath. Ben couldn't wait.

"How is he, Paul?"

"He's in bad shape, Ben. We need to get him out of here as fast as we can. Does anyone have a canteen handy? I need to get some water in him while you figure out how to get him out of here."

With a canteen, Joe climbed down because he would be better able to jump over Adam and Paul at the bottom of the ladder. Hoss asked if Adam had any chest or rib injuries. Paul said no and asked why.

"I'll drop my belt. If you and Joe can stand him up against the ladder, put my belt through the rungs on the ladder and around him. We can pull him up that way."

Asking if there was any place on Adam he shouldn't grab, Paul only mentioned the lacerations on his back. "Although he's senseless so he won't likely feel any pain from his back right now anyway." It was a struggle, but they got the limp man up against the ladder and secured as Hoss had asked. Then Hoss grabbed rungs of the ladder and began lifting it out of the Hole. Ben gasped when he got his first glimpse of his eldest son. He had blood caked on his back. There were numerous old and new bruises on his torso, but it was his pale complexion showing through the dirt as well as his clammy skin that was the most frightening. Once he was freed from the ladder, Ben cradled his son in his lap and asked for more water. He poured a little into Adam's mouth and he swallowed. Once Paul got back up to the surface, he told Ben to do that every few minutes.

"He's dehydrated and overheated. We need to cool him down and get fluid into him before we try to do anything else. Joe, can you locate a bath tub, set it up in the prison hospital, and get it filled will lukewarm water? Perhaps Jeremy could help. He probably knows where some things are."

"We could fill it with cool water if that would help."

"No, I don't want to shock him. We'll start with lukewarm water. That's going to feel very cool to him as hot as he is. Normally I wouldn't put a man with open wounds in a bath, but he's so filthy, we need to wash all of him anyway."

"What can I do, Doc?"

"Hoss, I want you and your father to carry him to the prison hospital. We'll take care of the rest of his needs there."

In the hospital, Paul worked with Joe and Hoss to undress Adam, get him in the tub, and then began to wash him. Ben sat at the head of the tub, and every few minutes, poured a small amount of water in Adam's mouth. He swallowed each time. After Joe finished washing Adam's hair, Hoss took a bucket of water to rinse the suds away. Adam leaned back and opened his mouth in the shower. He took in too much water and began choking. He ended up retching just a bit but opened his eyes to see his father's worried face. With a hoarse voice filled with wonder, he had to ask.

"Pa, is it really you?"

"Yes, Adam, we're here. You're going to be all right now."

"I'm sorry, Pa."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Pa, I didn't think you would come. I gave up. I'm sorry, Pa."

With tears flowing, Ben addressed his son. "No, Adam, I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner and before things got so bad. But we're together again now. We'll get you home, and you'll feel better soon."

"Please, Pa, take me home."

"As soon as we can, we will, son. We'll take you home."

As Adam nodded and closed his eyes, Paul signaled to Hoss to lift him from the tub and get him in the bed that was ready. Hoss lifted him as carefully as he could but still cringed when Adam cried out from the pain. With Joe's help, Hoss got Adam lying on his stomach on the bed so Paul could take care of the back lacerations. Once those were bandaged, he planned to take a look at the minor cuts and abrasions he had. He told Ben to go get a wagon ready if he wanted to move Adam out of the prison.

"He can travel, Ben, as long as the ride is slow, and we keep giving him fluids. Joe, could you see if there's some broth we could have? Hoss and I can turn him over when we have to."

"Paul, thank you so much, but I never asked why you came with Roy and Hoss."

"Ben, Roy told me about some of the injuries he already knew about, and I guessed that if Adam wasn't home already, he was probably hurt. I came along just in case he was."

"Thank you. I'll go get a wagon ready."

Once Ben was outside, he asked for a wagon, and one was hitched up and brought to him. He asked for mattresses to put down in the back, and those were brought too. Finally sheets and a blanket were deposited in the back of the wagon as well. The militia, under the direction of the attorney general and his staff members, were rounding up the guards and the officials who ran the prison. Lined up, they were being questioned. Ben walked to confront the warden.

"Warden, you said I would owe you an apology at the end of my visit. That's true. I'm very sorry I didn't do this when we first met." Ben hit the warden with a wicked uppercut that lifted him off his feet and laid him out unconscious. Ben would have liked to do more, but Roy was there to make sure he didn't. "Roy, you will see that they're locked up in this prison as soon as the trials are over?"

"You can bet your bottom dollar on that, Ben. Adam is my friend. Heck, he's like a son to me. What these men did to him is downright despicable. They'll pay for it."

Then Ben climbed into the wagon as Hoss and Joe helped two men carry Adam from the prison hospital to the wagon. Ben cradled Adam's head on his lap. Adam looked up at him and whispered.

"Pa, take me home, please?"

"That's where we're going son. It's going to take us a few days because we can't travel very fast, but we'll get you home as soon as we can."

"Are Hoss and Joe there?"

Looking up at Paul who had climbed into the wagon, Ben wondered at Adam's question because Hoss and Joe had helped clean him up as well as helping to carry him to the wagon.

"He's had head injuries, he's dehydrated, and he's got a fever. His mind isn't clear and his memory isn't clear. Ben, he'll be fine, but he's going to need some time to recuperate from this ordeal. He nearly died, and the strain on his body was severe. So answer his questions and don't worry if he repeats himself. He knows who all of you are, and he coherently answered every question I asked him even if he repeated himself a few times and forgot I already asked."

Buck and Chubb were tied to the back of the wagon as Hoss drove and Ben sat with Adam. Joe tied Cochise to the back of Paul's carriage and drove that behind the wagon. They took rooms in town, and planned out the best way to get Adam home.


	6. Chapter 6

**(Probably two more chapters after this one.)**

**Chapter 6**

"Ben, Adam's injuries are not that serious. I am most concerned about his memory issues because of the head injury, but I'm sure that will resolve in time. The lacerations are healing very well, and the bruises and abrasions are fading away already. However, he suffered through quite an ordeal. Now he needs to rest, and I know what kind of patient he is. You're going to have quite a job on your hands keeping him down."

"I know. He tried to get out of bed on the second day we were home. He wanted to eat at the table. He made it as far as the end of the bed and fell on the floor. That only worked to keep him in bed one more day though. Hoss helped him down the stairs yesterday and today. One of us has to help him back up the stairs at night. He does read and relax for most of the day, but I know his weakness is bothering him. He wants to start doing things again."

"All right. You can tell him he can walk to the corral and back once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Have a chair or bench ready for him over there. He'll think he won't need it, but he will. In between, he can sit on the porch. Do you have some paperwork he could do? He needs to feel useful and productive. Well you knew that already. He is not one to take idleness well."

"Paul, if his injuries aren't that serious, why is he so weak?"

"With the heat and the dehydration of the Hole added to the stress and the work he was doing in Ruby, he was exhausted. Internally, his system was taxed to its limit. I can't tell you exactly what is wrong, but know that he needs to let himself heal internally or he could make himself sick."

"Thank you, Paul. When will you be back?"

"I'll be back in three days. By then, I should be able to remove any bandages and stitches. They'll probably be itching a lot by then. If necessary, Hop Sing can remove them. There aren't many. Otherwise, I'll do it when I get here. Any problems, send someone for me." Paul snapped the reins and left.

Walking back into the house, Ben was aghast to see Adam working his way down the stairs by himself. He rushed to his side and took his arm. Adam wanted to say he didn't need the help, but halfway down the stairs, he knew he shouldn't have tried it by himself. All he said when he got to his blue chair was a quiet thank you to his father. Ben knew then that Adam had found his limits and wouldn't try anything like that for at least another day. He told him what Paul had said about trying short walks, and he said he would like that but maybe he would wait a few minutes. Ben handed him his book before going to his desk to work. After about fifteen minutes, he looked up to see Adam slouched in his chair asleep. Hoss had helped him down the stairs for breakfast and then back up to his bedroom when Paul got there. Then he had made the trip down again. Just that much had tired him out. Ben worked quietly until Adam awakened over an hour later. Ben saw him hurriedly pick up his book as if he could fool his father into thinking he had not been sleeping. Ben wasn't going to let him do that.

"Now that you've had a good nap, do you want to try that walk? I have time right now to help you if you need it."

Insisting he needed no assistance, Adam walked out to the porch and leaned against the column. Ben quietly got a chair and carried it to the corral fence. He set it down and waited watching the horses in the corral. Adam was soon there and leaned on the corral fence next to him while fighting the urge to sit in the chair, close his eyes, and take another nap.

"You know, it's a very nice day. I think I'll get another chair and sit here with you. Maybe we could have lunch on the porch when you're ready to walk back."

Nodding, Adam sank gratefully into the chair. He hated being this weak. It made him feel dependent and that was a feeling he detested. But by the time Ben brought a chair to sit with him, he had decided to make the best of it. They had a nice conversation about ranch business before taking a slow walk back to the porch. That afternoon, Adam took another walk to the corral and sat in the chair until he felt ready to walk back. Ben had heard him leave the porch and watched through the window by his desk until Adam was back on the porch. Once Adam picked up his book to read, Ben sat back down to finish his paperwork. After about an hour and hearing nothing from Adam, he walked outside to find him asleep in the chair. The day was mild but with a cool breeze. Ben went inside to get the afghan from the settee and settled it over Adam's legs and midsection. He never stirred.

Each time like this when Ben saw how weak Adam still was, he realized how close he had come to losing him. It made him angry each time at the people who had done this. The people in Ruby and at the prison had been arrested and would be tried. The prosecutors expected Adam to go there for the trials and testify. In fact, the trials had been delayed until Adam was strong enough to travel and testify. Ben had not told him that. He had only said that the trials would begin in about two weeks. However the Long brothers weren't charged with anything. Adam's hazy memories of that night in Ruby were not sufficient evidence according to the prosecutors. They apologized and said that if anyone could come up with evidence to corroborate Adam's version of events, they would surely arrest and charge the Long brothers.

When Hoss and Joe arrived home, they were surprised to see chairs by the corral. Then they saw Adam sleeping in the chair on the porch. Joe couldn't resist the urge to tease him a little. He grabbed a stalk of grass and moved in close tickling Adam's face with the grass. Adam stirred and finally grabbed at the blade of grass as Joe was brushing it across his nose. Adam's eyes opened suddenly and Joe began giggling and Hoss was laughing. Forgetting what their father had said about not teasing Adam during his recuperation, Joe just had to keep going.

"Now that's the way to be a rancher. Sit in a chair and take a nap while your brothers do all the work. I see you got another little rest area out by the corral. Maybe we ought to put a nice rocking chair out there for you."

Standing, Adam was stonefaced as he grabbed the Afghan throw and stalked into the house. Once inside he threw the offending throw onto the settee and began to climb the stairs. Ben asked him what was wrong and got no reply. Because Ben had heard Hoss and Joe ride in, he quickly surmised what had happened. He quickly went to the stairs to help Adam climb. Adam's first inclination was to refuse the help, but with his father's silence, he acquiesced, and by the time they reached the top, he said thank you before walking to his room. Ben returned down the stairs and headed outside. He had two healthy sons who apparently needed a reminder about using some good common sense. He found them in the stable.

"All right, what did you say to Adam?"

"Aww, Pa, Joe was just joshing him a little for sleeping on the porch while we were working. There was no call for him to get so upset."

"No call, huh? How would you feel if you ached all over and couldn't even walk up the stairs by yourself? How about if you couldn't eat without the feeling that your stomach was about to throw it all back up? How about if you've worked your whole life and suddenly can't do much of anything while your brothers taunt you about your weakness?"

"Pa, he's been home for four days. He doesn't have a gunshot wound or any broken bones. It just seems he's dragging out this thing. It doesn't seem like he should be so sick any more."

"Joseph, Paul was here today as you know. He said that Adam's internal organs were damaged by the heat and lack of water. He nearly died. That damage doesn't show, but let me assure you that Adam is well aware of it every minute of the day with the discomfort and exhaustion he feels. He walked to the corral today and then had to rest before he could walk back. What would you be like if you had to deal with weakness and inactivity like that? Hoss, how would you feel if you couldn't even eat eggs and toast without feeling sick?"

"Sorry, Pa. We had no idea it was that bad. Adam's been saying he feels fine."

"Joe, when does Adam ever say he feels anything but fine?"

"Yeah, Joe, remember when he got shot in the arm and had it in a sling. When you saw him, you asked how he was, and he said fine like nothing was wrong."

"Yes, and in just over a week, he has to testify in the trials in Carson. Those Long brothers are another worry for him. So can you please remember to take it easy on him?"

Hoss and Joe agreed, but by the time they got in the house, Adam appeared at the top of the stairs and asked if someone would help him so he didn't fall down the steps instead of walking. Joe bounded up the stairs to help and apologized.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. You were just treating me like I was normal, and I overreacted. Let's forget about it."

The rest of Adam's recuperation proceeded as planned. Paul removed the bandages and stitches three days later, and Adam was able to take a bath that improved his mood immensely. The next day he walked down the stairs by himself with a big grin. He pronounced that he no longer felt like he had been run over by a stampede. His fatigue had diminished as well although he tired easily. He began to do light chores around the ranch. A week later, the four of them rode to Carson for the trials. Most of the cases had been consolidated so Adam only had to testify to his treatment twice. The first time was about the Ruby mine, and the second was the more important case about his treatment at the prison. All men charged with crimes were found guilty. All the men at the Ruby mine had been released, and Jeremy was given parole from prison. Adam asked if he could be assigned to work on the Ponderosa, and the judge agreed although Jeremy was prohibited from entering a saloon during the duration of his two-year parole. Buck had been asked to stay as well but preferred mining so Ben had helped him get a job at the Ophir mine. Everything had been settled except for the Long brothers. Adam assumed they would not give up, and was correct. The two brothers were worried that if evidence was found to back up Adam's story, they would be arrested.

In the Bucket of Blood saloon where they were often seen loitering, the Long brothers discussed their situation. Nathan was all for leaving town and being done with the Cartwrights forever. Matt's pride wouldn't let him do that. He had another plan.

"Well, right now, they're wet nursing him all over the place. But sooner or later, he'll be someplace on his own. He's gonna get one then right between them eyes of his. He ain't never gonna tell nobody else that we done anything to him."

"But, Matt, if anything happens to him, we're gonna be the first ones they blame. We can't do anything to him and get away with it."

"No, we're gonna get him so mad that he comes after me. Nobody can blame us if he calls me out and gets killed."

"But, Matt, he's darn good. You might get shot instead."

"That's where you come in, Nathan. You're gonna be hiding off to the side and have a pistol aimed right at his chest. As soon as he goes for it, you're gonna shoot him. As fast as all that happens, nobody's gonna know you was the one who shot him."

"Matt, what if I miss?"

"That's why we're gonna go out to the folks' place and practice every day. By the time he calls me out, we're both gonna be ready for him."

"What are we gonna do to make him mad enough?"

"Well, we'll think of things as we go. First let's go practice some, and then go take a look around the Ponderosa and see what's going on. I heard they're all back now with them trials being done and such."

On the Ponderosa, Hoss and Joe had gone out to mend fences that had been damaged in recent rainfall that had caused some flooding and mudslides that took down fences. Adam was with them to suggest where they could move some of the fence lines so they wouldn't be as vulnerable to those two problems. One section only had to be moved about ten feet over to get it above the high water mark. They took care of that section in the morning. The more problematical of the fixes was what to do about a fence line that curved around a hill from which a previous owner had removed the trees with clear cutting. This was land that their father had purchased for the quality of the pasturage, but he had not realized the problems that might occur due to the clear cutting that had been done. Adam suggested that they not only needed to move the fence line lower, but also thought they should consider replanting some of the area with seedlings so that within a few years, the danger of mudslides or landslides would be considerably reduced. His brothers agreed but groaned at the amount of work that entailed.

"Well, lets find some shade and find out what Hop Sing packed for our lunches. I'm so dadblamed hungry after all that digging, I could eat a horse. No offense intended, Chubb."

"Wouldn't matter what we did. You would still be hungry. I think I'd rather have a nap first so don't eat it all."

After ground tying Sport, Adam sat and leaned against a tree pulling his hat over his eyes. Joe looked at Hoss who shrugged. Ben had asked Adam that morning if he thought he was ready to work a full day, and Adam had been adamant that he could and acted almost insulted by the question. He had worked hard that morning and done as much as his brothers, but Hoss had noticed that he seemed to be slouching in the saddle as they rode to this hill and that wasn't like him at all. He normally rode tall in the saddle. He only slouched in the saddle when the horse wasn't moving. Hoss decided they would have lunch and rest a bit themselves. An hour later, Adam was still asleep. Hoss stood and motioned to Joe that they should go and to let Adam sleep.

An hour later, Adam joined them. Hoss had just dropped a post into a hole he had dug. He handed the shovel to Adam and held the post in place. Adam backfilled the hole, and then both of them tamped the soil down.

"Did you eat anything?"

"I grabbed a chicken leg and a biscuit."

"Good. We should be able to finish about half of this today and do the rest tomorrow. Then we can plant some seedlings. Joe wondered if we could try transplanting a couple of bigger ones to try to speed up the process some."

"We've never done that, but I don't see any harm in trying. It'll be a lot of work."

Joe smiled because now both brothers had endorsed his idea. "We can use that freight wagon from the lumber camp. They aren't hauling anything out of there for the next week. I thought that if we could put about three or four at the steepest point, it might help hold that area better than seedlings."

"Sounds good to me. We'll work out the placement tomorrow after we finish the fence."

Later as they rode home, the three brothers talked and joshed a bit as all were in a good mood because it felt so good to have a day that was normal with no trials, no threats, and no danger. None of them had realized that they were being watched during the last hour they had worked. As they rode home, the Long brothers began their plan.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next morning, Ben rode with his sons to the fence area that needed a redesign. What they found there made all of them angry. Someone had pulled down all the fencing that had been repaired the previous day. The wagon of supplies still stood there but had a strong smell of urine all around it leaving no doubt as to what had been done there.

"Dadburnit, now who woulda done that? There just ain't no point to it except to make us mad, is there?"

"I think we know who probably did this. They're not done with me yet."

Hoss tried to deflect Adam's feelings of guilt that more trouble had come their way because the Long brothers hated him so much. "Aw, Adam, we don't know it was them Long boys what done this. Coulda been any yahoos passing through here, or anybody with a grudge against any one of us." One look around and Hoss knew that no one was buying that story. They were all thinking it was the Longs.

"It meant they had to be watching you boys yesterday. They didn't just happen on the spot where you worked yesterday. This is to send a message loud and clear."

Joe wasn't so sure what it meant. "Yeah, Pa, but what's the message? Seems like this is just a try at making all of us mad."

Adam was more fatalistic. "We'll probably get a better idea with the next messages they send. I'm sure that this is just the start of another of Matt's plans for me."

"The three of you should keep working here. I'm going back to let the men know to watch out for the Longs. Don't be surprised if you see some of our hands riding around this area. If the Longs are on our ranch, I want to know about it."

All of the brothers nodded in agreement with that plan. Before Ben left, they did ride up the slope getting Ben's endorsement that planting seedlings was necessary, and Ben told them to go ahead with Joe's plan as well. Adam asked if one of the hands could be assigned to stay out here at night to protect the area from more vandalism. Ben agreed with that plan and said he would find someone willing to do the night work for a bonus. Usually that was enough incentive to get volunteers. Nothing happened at that site for the next week though. It was clear that the Longs were aware they would be watched and did nothing to arouse any more suspicion for the week at least. They did keep practicing their marksmanship at their parents' place, but no one knew that.

The Cartwright brothers meanwhile had a lot more work to do because of the vandalism. They had to cut more fence posts, dig out the broken ones and replace them, and then repair the rest of the fence damaged by the slide. It was several more days before they got seedlings to plant, and then two more full days of digging up small pines to transplant into spots Adam thought would do the most good. Finally they terraced a few of the worst spots with loads of rock to help hold the soil until the tree roots would grow out to do it.

"It looks good, Adam."

"Yes, Joe, it looks a lot better than when we first saw it. I hope that our repairs hold long enough for everything to settle into place before the next rain."

"Oh don't be so pessimistic. It's going to be fine."

"Yeah, and now all of us can get cleaned up and still get to town for the dance."

"Hoss, I don't know if I want to go."

"Heck, why not? We'll be with ya, and ya ain't had no fun in a long time. C'mon, let's go."

Giving in to Hoss' persuasion because he did want to relax and have some fun, Adam rode home with them and then to the dance after they were cleaned up. Ben smiled as he watched the three ride out together. They were getting along so well these days, he wondered when the next argument or dispute would create tension in the house especially between his stubborn oldest son and his hotheaded youngest one. For now, he decided to relax with his pipe, read a book, and enjoy the peaceful evening. He gave no thought to the Longs because nothing had happened since the vandalism.

Of course with the increased surveillance around the Ponderosa, the Longs had decided they needed to do something away from the Ponderosa to anger Adam. In town, they saw him heading into the dance with his brothers, and Matt decided they could probably get a couple of things done that evening. Matt sent Nathan on one task as he went to the dance to observe to see if he could come up with another one.

At the dance, many ladies noted the Cartwright brothers entering especially with Adam in tow. Matt had been spreading stories about Adam and Jeremy and why Adam had brought Jeremy from prison to the Ponderosa. Most wouldn't believe the tales he was telling, but a few did wonder a bit especially because Adam was over thirty and still unmarried. Jeremy was not allowed to be anywhere alcohol was served so there was no point in him coming to town. He had to find ways to relax on the ranch. The men liked him so that was no problem, but with Adam and Jeremy rather scarce around town, there were a few others in town who wanted to believe the rumors.

At the dance, there was a lot of whispering and staring. Adam didn't want to think he was the center of all of it, but it was apparent he was. He looked at Hoss and then at Joe. They shrugged for they had no more idea than Adam did why people were staring and whispering. It didn't take long to find out. Each of the men found a willing lady for the next dance. In each case, the discussion was about the rumors that had been circulating about Adam and Jeremy. Adam was dancing with an old friend, Barbara Tyler, who had been widowed and only recently had stopped wearing a mourning dress. She had to ask him if he had heard the rumors. He looked at her wondering what she meant, and she could see he had no idea about the stories that had circulated in town for the past two weeks.

"Adam, I know you're going to be angry, but try to control it."

"Barbara, just tell me. Don't you think I have a right to know if I'm the subject of the rumors? It only seems fair."

"Well, it seems that someone has been saying that you and Jeremy were more than, oh I don't know how to say it, but I'll try. The story is that you and Jeremy are, oh, well, that the two of you are, oh, Adam, I can't say it."

"People think that Jeremy and I are in a relationship?"

Barbara was worried how he would react, and was absolutely shocked when he laughed after she nodded yes. "Perhaps some of the ladies in town won't be chasing after me quite so hard, and there won't be any fathers looking to match me up with their daughters."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it bother me? It's ridiculous, and the only people who would believe it are not friends of mine anyway. It's the opposite of the usual rumor about me that I fathered some dark haired baby, and the cuckolded husband is coming after me."

"You're in a remarkably good humor."

"Surviving what I did gave me an appreciation of being alive that no one is going to take away. I found out how important my family and friends are. I could not have survived without them. Now if you don't believe the rumors, will you dance the next dance with me as well? I'm hoping for a waltz."

"Yes, but I have a sneaking suspicion why you would like a waltz."

"And you are absolutely correct. I hope that it doesn't bother you that I would like to hold you close?"

"Not at all. I wouldn't mind if all the dances were waltzs."

The two smiled and spent most of the evening dancing until Barbara asked for a break. Adam walked outside with her. When she shivered, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders using the opportunity to draw her close to him. He kept his arm wrapped around her as they walked and when they sat on a bench. She leaned toward Adam letting him know his attention was appreciated. He held her to him and lifted her chin with one finger before leaning down to kiss her. Then he sat back, and they talked. After a half hour, Adam suggested they ought to head back inside before there were rumors about her.

"I don't care about that. You're a good friend, and I like being with you. I miss Jim a lot, but it's been over two years so no one has a right to say anything negative if I want to walk in the moonlight with a handsome gentleman."

Adam grinned at her and took her arm to guide her back into the dance. They got punch, danced a few more times, and then sat and talked as people began to leave. There hadn't been a fight of any kind and that made this dance unusual. Joe had spent the night dancing with a number of girls and came over to ask when Adam wanted to leave.

"Well, Barbara came with her sister, Julia, who seems to be missing at the moment, but Hoss is missing too. Now what do you suppose could have happened to them?" Adam had that classic smirk.

"So I suppose we have to wait until Hoss gets back in here. Barbara, I hope taking care of Adam all evening wasn't too much trouble?"

"Not at all. We had a marvelous time."

Joe looked nervous, and Adam had a good idea about why he was nervous. "Joe, hear any good rumors tonight?"

"Ah, no, no, nothing at all."

"You've never been a very good liar. Barbara told me already. Don't worry about it."

"You're not mad?"

"I'll tell you what I told Barbara. Anyone who believes that kind of thing about me isn't a friend anyway. So I don't see why I have to be concerned about that rumor any more than any rumor that has ever been spread about me. Besides, I think we know who's the likely origin of that rumor."

"You think the Longs started that story."

That made Barbara curious, and Adam explained all the things that had happened because he had failed to get the youngest Long brother not to participate in a gunfight.

"But how could that be your fault? Everyone in town was talking about how stupid he was to do that when he had a chance to walk away. Of course, those Longs have never had much good sense."

A short time later, Julia and Hoss walked back in. Adam and Hoss escorted the ladies to Barbara's carriage. Barbara planned to drop Julia off at her house, and then proceed to hers that was only a short distance from town. "Don't worry, Adam. My hired hand will have a light burning and he always waits up until I'm home safely. He worked for my father, and he treats me like a daughter. I'll be fine." Bidding each other good night, the brothers waved as the sisters rode away in their carriage.

"She seems like a real nice lady, Adam. Why ain't you never shown any interest in her before?"

"Hoss, I didn't get to know her until she was already involved with Jim. Then he died, and she was in mourning. Who knows what might happen now that she has officially ended her mourning period. I like her, but she still loves Jim a lot. So, for now, we're still just friends. Now, how about you and Julia?"

"Adam, I like her a lot too. She's only twenty though. She seems so young. She's younger than Joe!"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with her being younger than me. It's going to take a young strong woman to handle you anyway. They get as old as Adam, and they might die from the strain."

"I am not old."

The bantering continued as they reached the livery stable and got their horses out. They tightened the cinches and prepared to ride home. Sport seemed especially edgy, and Joe had to comment on that. Adam simply responded by saying Sport hadn't had a good run lately and was probably getting a bit antsy because of it. He thought that if the moonlight was bright enough, he might let him run for a while on the way home at least for the long straight stretches of road they had to cover. Adam mounted up, and immediately Sport began bucking. Adam nearly lost his seat with the surprise, but managed to hang on. Joe vaulted onto Cochise and tried to get close to give Adam the chance to slide off safely. Hoss saw what he was doing and mounted up on Chubb and moved to the other side of Sport. With the two horses boxing him in, Sport calmed enough that Adam was able to slide off onto Cochise and then to the ground. He spit out a few expletives then to which his father would have objected. Once Hoss and Joe had calmed Sport enough, Adam loosened the cinch and pulled the saddle from him. There were a number of burrs under the blanket.

"Well, the Longs strike again."

Joe and Hoss didn't bother disputing the statement. The Longs were the likely culprits. Adam carefully cleaned and refolded the blanket before saddling Sport. The horse seemed reasonably calm so Adam mounted up with Hoss and Joe waiting close to him to intervene if necessary. Sport did a few of his usual antics, and then the three brothers rode home wondering what the next stunt by the Long brothers would be. They only had to wait until the next morning when one of their hands rode in with the bad news he had heard from a neighbor who had ridden up to him with a message he thought the Cartwrights would want to get.

"Mrs. Tyler's home burned to the ground last night. She got out all right, but she's got some burns on her hands. That's all I know."

With a look that bode trouble for the Long brothers, Adam strode out of the house to the stable leaving his family sitting with their coffee at the breakfast table. Ben looked at Hoss. He had just heard from them about how Adam and Mrs. Tyler had danced together for most of the previous night. He suspected as Adam did that the fire was not a coincidence.

"Go with him. He shouldn't go anywhere alone, and let him know he can offer any assistance he wants to Mrs. Tyler with my blessing."

By the time Adam and Hoss arrived at the scene of the fire, Barbara and Julia had returned from the doctor's office and were walking around the ashes of the home looking for anything that could be salvaged. The hired man was carrying a bucket with bits and pieces of metal and ceramic that they had been able to retrieve so far. As Adam and Hoss reached the two ladies, Adam apologized for causing this to happen and offered to compensate Barbara in any way he could.

"You think the Longs did this just because I danced with you?" With Adam's nod, she continued. "It is so cruel, Adam. I have nothing left of Jim now except his grave. All the pictures and mementoes as well as his clothing is all gone. There's nothing left." Barbara began to cry softly, and Adam reached out to console her. She rushed into his arms and began sobbing. He walked her to an undamaged bench nearby and sat with her until she regained her composure.

"You're going to need clothing and other necessities. I want you to buy what you need and put it on the Ponderosa account. I'll make sure all the bills get paid." Barbara was going to object, but Adam held up a hand. "I want to do that for you as a friend. I brought this trouble down on you, and even if you don't blame me, I blame myself. Please let me do this for you so I can feel a little better about that."

Barbara nodded then and sat up straight. "I guess it might be a sign too that I should move on with my life. I was thinking of going to Sacramento. I hear there are some openings there for teachers and librarians. Perhaps I could get a job there."

"Don't be rushed into anything. Take your time and think it through. Sacramento is a nice place, but there are many places where you could build a new life. Are you going to be staying with your parents for now?" Barbara nodded. "We'll ride with you to make sure you get there safely after you do some shopping."

"What about Henry? He worked for my father and then me. He has nowhere to go now."

"Hoss, do we have some work for Henry?"

"Well, ifn he wants to do some mending and fixing around the place, we got a whole bunch of things he can do."

"All right. Would you see if he's agreeable to working for us?"

As Hoss went off to talk with Henry, Barbara thanked Adam. Then the four of them went to town so Barbara could get things she needed before heading to her parents' home with her sister. Adam and Hoss rode home, but Adam had a look on his face that let Hoss know the Longs were going to be facing him directly soon. He worried that was exactly what Matt was orchestrating, and decided to broach that subject with Adam.

"That may be true, but who else has to get hurt before Matt and I square off face-to-face and settle this? Everything he's done has been to make me angry. Well it worked. I'm very angry, but I won't walk into his trap. We'll talk and work out our own plan before I do anything else. But we need to do something soon because Barbara is at risk just because she agreed to dance with me last night. We ought to tell Jeremy about the rumors too so he doesn't go off half-cocked and get himself in trouble. I owe him that and a lot more."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Adam, if you go to town, there's going to be a gunfight. I know you're good, but we don't know what Matt has planned."

"Don't we, Pa? He'll have Nathan hiding somewhere ready to shoot me as soon as we face off. Hoss is coming with me. He'll have to take care of Nathan. This has already gone too far. Barbara could have been killed last night. He's getting desperate. He tried to get me mad with tearing down the fence, with spreading rumors, with getting Sport to buck me. It didn't work so he set Barbara's house on fire."

"Adam, we don't know he did that. It's not like you to go off half-cocked like this. You usually think things through."

"Pa, somehow I know Matt is responsible for me getting hurt on the drive. I can't prove it, but he and Nathan were the ones who set me up in Ruby. Now they have this other plan to try to goad me into a fight. Well, it worked. I won't wait until they kill somebody. It's time to settle this."

"So that's why you and Hoss have been practicing your shooting so much. It had nothing to do with wanting to go hunting."

"Oh, but it did. I never identified the object of my hunt. I'm going into town. I'm going to hunt Matt Long down, and I'm going to give him the fight he wants except Hoss is going to be there to make sure it's a fair fight. Matt won't be ready for that."

"That's it? That's the extent of your plan? What if Hoss doesn't find Nathan? What if they found such a good hiding place that he's able to shoot you down in the street?"

"Then that's what happens. I won't let any more innocent people get hurt because Matt wants me dead."

"You're innocent too." Adam dropped his head and stared at the ground because he had no answer to that. "I almost lost you only about a month ago. I can't let you risk your life like this again."

"Pa, I have to face Matt. If Hoss takes Nathan out of the equation, then I can pressure Matt to admit some of these things he's done. Hopefully there will be plenty of witnesses so he won't try to back down from it later. But one way or the other, it has to be over. I have to do this."

"I know you do, but Joe and I will be there too. We can get a few of the men to come along too. There is no possible way that I am letting anyone shoot you from ambush. We'll ride in together. I don't think Matt has the backbone to face all of us. His kind prefer secrecy and darkness. Having to face up to those he has wronged will be more than he can handle."

Within an hour, Adam rode to town with his father, brothers, and several hands. As Adam went to find Matt to confront him, the others would scout out the area to make sure it would be a fair fight if it came to that. Adam found Matt at the Bucket of Blood. Matt had been watching for him and signaled Nathan to head out the back door as soon as Matt saw Adam. Nathan moved stealthily toward the selected hiding place. As Adam dismounted and entered the saloon, Ben and the others fanned out in the area looking for Nathan who was already well hidden.

"You tried to get me killed and then you got me locked up in Ruby. You damaged property on the Ponderosa and put burrs under my saddle probably hoping that I'd get bucked off and killed. You spread rumors about me. But the worst thing you did was to burn down Mrs. Tyler's house just because she danced with me. It's time for you to face justice."

"Oh, and I suppose you think you're the one who's gonna do it?"

"Or you can go to the sheriff and admit what you've done."

"I haven't done anything. You got no proof. They told ya that. So as I see it, you're the one spreading rumors and damaging my reputation. There's only one answer to that. Let's take this out on the street and find out who's the better man."

It's your call. I'll be waiting." Adam backed out of the saloon then not wanting to give Matt any kind of opening to do something more to him. Once he was outside, he looked around and everyone seemed perplexed. His father shrugged. They had not found Nathan, although all the armed men around might make Nathan and Matt nervous. It was the only hope they had at this point to keep it a fair fight. Adam walked across the street, which was exactly what Matt wanted. Nathan sighted in on Adam's chest and waited for his brother to square off against his nemesis.

Matt exited the saloon and surveyed the street. Seeing the other Cartwrights and some of their hands unnerved him just a bit, but he still had his ace in the hole. Matt glanced at the wagon as he moved to face Adam. Both men loosened their pistols in their holsters. Hoss had a sudden inspiration. That glance of Matt's had seemed too focused for a casual look around. Hoss moved to the side of the wagon and pulled up the cotton bonnet. He reached inside for a startled Nathan and dragged him over the side. Adam saw it all happen, but Matt had to turn to see. He paled noticeably to see his brother found and disarmed. Hoss grinned at Adam.

"He's all yours now, Adam. It'll be a fair fight. Ain't nobody here gonna say otherwise when you kill him."

Suddenly, Matt wasn't as enthused about a gunfight with Adam. "Now, Adam, we was just funning with ya in Ruby. We never meant for ya to get locked up and end up in prison. That was all just a big misunderstanding."

"And the rest of it?" Adam stood unyielding and looked as intimidating as any professional gunfighter. He never took his eyes from Matt and the stare unnerved him.

Roy had arrived and heard that exchange. He wanted to stop this fight, but he wouldn't do anything at this point because he might distract Adam, and that could have dire consequences. He waited to see how this conversation would pan out.

"Now we were just having a little fun with ya with those stories and having your horse buck you around like that was kinda funny if you think about it. We just pulled a little prank on ya with the fences. It was kind of like a Halloween joke getting you a bit early." Sweat had started to make rivulets in the dirt on Matt's face even though the day was mild.

"And Mrs. Tyler?"

Those three words caused near panic in Matt. He was starting to think that Adam was going to kill him no matter what. He tried to make light of what had happened. "Well that wasn't supposed to happen like that. It was only supposed to be a little fire and a lot of smoke. We didn't use no coal oil or nothing, but that wood on her house musta been tinder dry and it went up like a box of matches. We did wait to make sure she got out safely. Heck, it was Nathan what throwed rocks through her window to wake her up so's she'd get up. We wasn't gonna do nothing more cause it was all kinda getting out a hand as you know. Now that we cleared the air, maybe we could shake on it and let bygones be bygones."

"Matt Long, you're under arrest for arson and a bunch of other charges."

"What, Sheriff, you can't arrest me. You don't have any evidence."

"I got plenty with you saying them things. Now come along with me. You got a date with a jail cell."

"No, I'm not going to jail." About that time, Matt felt the barrel of a rifle press against his spine.

"Now I ain't fast like my brothers, and I wouldn't face ya in a gunfight, but I can't miss at this range, and you could never do nothing to stop me before I split you in two. So you're gonna reach for that pistol with your left hand and drop it in the street."

Hesitating and thinking furiously, Matt could come up with no plan to extricate himself from this mess. He did as Hoss directed.

With Hoss' help, Roy marched Matt and Nathan to the jail. Now with Adam's testimony, even if a bit hazy, there was enough evidence to convict Matt and Nathan of crimes. Within a week, Matt and Nathan were tried, convicted, and headed to Nevada State Prison to serve long terms consisting of consecutive sentences for multiple offenses. The brothers had asked for mercy because of their brother's death, but the judge was not inclined to grant it because of the series of crimes they had premeditated and carried out especially the fire that could have claimed Barbara Tyler's life. Their claims that they never meant to burn the house down was met with skepticism by the jury who were more interested in what they did than in what they intended to do. The two brothers would probably never see the outside of prison walls again. All in all, it was a sad ending to a tragic tale with all three of the Long brothers lost to their family. Only the parents and the younger sister remained alive and free, but the parents left to head back to St. Louis because of all the negative reaction to what Matt and Nathan had done. Eloise didn't leave and moved in with friends and continued to work at the mercantile.

On occasion, one of the Cartwrights would see her there and greet her, but she never returned the friendly salutations. Everyone knew that she was very upset with them, and hoped that time would heal her emotional wounds. It didn't which they found out months later. Ben was in the mercantile handing over a list of supplies needed at the ranch and mentioned to Mr. Cass that Adam would be there in an hour or so to pick them up. Eloise began plotting. After a half hour, she told Mr. Cass she wasn't feeling well, and he advised her to go home. She headed out the back of the store, but she didn't go home. She took the shotgun that she had taken from the store and loaded it with two shells she had also taken. Then she waited behind some crates next to the store for the nemesis of the Longs to show up. As expected, Adam was on time. Eloise stepped out with the shotgun to greet him. She held it pointed at his midsection and he stopped abruptly. As close as she was, it wouldn't matter if she had never fired a shotgun. She couldn't miss.

"Eloise, don't do this. Your parents have already lost three sons. Don't make them lose a daughter too."

"My father is dying. He got consumption because of the lousy job he had to take to support my mother. They're living like common trash with barely enough to eat. It's all your fault, and you're going to pay for it."

A crowd was gathering but no one knew what to do. Even shooting her was out of the question because it would likely cause her to fire the shotgun and end Adam's life. Ben came out of the bank with all of the commotion, and his heart began to pound in his chest when he saw what was unfolding. Adam wasn't doing much better. He had faced guns before but never had anyone intent on killing him stood there with his death on their fingertips and talked with him about it. Usually he reacted first and thought about it later. He needed to think here and be very careful in what he said to the young lady in such a volatile situation.

"Eloise, your brothers made bad choices. It got Johnny killed. Bad decisions cost Matt and Nathan their freedom. If you kill me, then you'll hang or you'll go to prison for the rest of your life. What will be gained by that?"

"Justice! Isn't that what you Cartwrights always preach? There's got to be fairness and justice. Well, the law won't do anything about you, but I will."

Adam saw the imperceptible signs that she was tightening her finger on the trigger. He got ready to leap to the side for he thought it was the only chance he had. He never saw his father step out of the crowd. Ben had seen the same thing Adam saw and rushed forward to push the shotgun down. It worked but Eloise pulled the trigger. People rushed in to grab her and the shotgun then. Roy was there to tell them to hold her. Ben turned and saw Adam on his knees and bent over with his hands cradling his face. He was rocking back and forth in obvious agony. Ben thought his heart might stop right then. He moved to Adam's side.

"Are you hit? Adam, are you hit?"

"My eyes, Pa, my eyes!"

The double blast from Eloise's shotgun had exploded into the dirt in front of Adam and shot dust and debris upwards. He had gotten a lot in his face and his eyes were the most affected although there were tiny cuts from pieces of gravel and such that had bounced up.

"Just keep your eyes closed, Adam, and don't touch them. We'll get you to the doctor's office as fast as we can. He'll take care of cleaning up your eyes and your face."

Roy stepped to the other side of Adam and helped him stand. Clem took Eloise to jail as Adam was escorted to Doctor Martin's office. Paul had Ben and Roy help Adam into the surgery. He asked Ben to bring him pitchers of water. He held a basin under Adam's face, and gradually irrigated his eyes having him turn first one way and then the other until all the debris was gone. He examined the eyes closely and then after irrigating the eyes once more, he had Adam shut his eyes so he could bandage them loosely. He put salve on the tiny wounds on his face before going out to talk with Ben and Roy.

"It doesn't look like any damage to the eyes. He got a lot of grit in there, and has some minute scratches but they should heal. I want to keep him here for the time being to monitor the situation, and I don't want him exposed to any bright lights for a few days. He needs to rest quietly and let the eyes heal themselves. Don't look so worried, Ben. He'll be fine in a few days."

Letting out the breath he had been holding, Ben nodded. "Can I go in and talk with him?"

"Certainly, but keep it calm. He needs to stay relaxed."

Ben sat by Adam's side for over an hour until Adam told him he ought to get those supplies home before Hoss and Joe sent out a rescue mission for them. He also asked his father to explain everything to them and assure them he would be fine. "Really fine. Not the fine I say when I don't want any more questions." Adam smiled then, and Ben truly relaxed. He agreed to do as Adam asked.

"I'll be back tomorrow with a change of clothing and your shaving kit. Is there anything else you want?"

"Normally I would say a book, but that's not going to do me much good like this."

"I'll bring Moby Dick along. Anyone can read that aloud, and it will help pass the time better."

"If you're doing that, could you bring that new Verne book? I only just started it."

The next day, as promised, Ben was back. Hoss and Joe came with him to be sure of his condition. Ben had downplayed the seriousness of it so they wanted to be sure he hadn't downplayed it too much. All were relieved to hear from Paul that his eyes were already less red and there was no more bleeding.

"Now in the light, his eyes look terrible but no worse than a drunk's on the day after a very big drunken bender. They'll even be a bit red when he heads home tomorrow, but they're healing just fine. His vision is close to normal already."

"Then why the bandages, Doc?"

"He's healing, but the eyes are very sensitive. I don't want him blinking too much and rubbing irritated tissue over other irritated tissue. I irrigate his eyes for him every two hours and in between he has a moist bandage on them. If all goes well, he can go home tomorrow."

The judge put Eloise on a stage to begin her trip to St. Louis. As promised, Paul cleared Adam t go home the next day, but suggested he keep the bandage on his eyes until he was home and in the house so he rode in the back of the carriage. At home, he recuperated over the next week until Paul declared he was fine and could resume normal activities. The saga of the Longs in Virginia City was over. All was back to normal on the Ponderosa except Adam was thinking even more of leaving to see if he could find a part of the world not ruled by violence and tainted by corruption, but usually he concluded that there was no such paradise on earth.


End file.
